Pronunciation of Pay: Learn how to pronounce Pay in English correctly

Learn how to say Pay correctly in English with this tutorial pronunciation video.

Oxford dictionary definition of the word pay:

verb (past and past participle paid /peɪd/)
1 [with object] give (someone) money that is due for work done, goods received, or a debt incurred:
[with object and infinitive]:
the traveller paid a guide to show him across
[no object]:
I’ll pay for your ticket
give (a sum of money) in exchange for goods or work done or to settle a debt:
the company was rumoured to have paid 450p a share
[with two objects]:
they paid him an annual retainer
hand over or transfer the amount due of (a debt, wages, etc.) to someone:
I always prefer to pay all my bills by cheque
(of work, an investment, etc.) provide someone with (a sum of money):
jobs that pay £5 an hour
[no object] (of a business, activity, or an attitude) be profitable or advantageous:
crime doesn’t pay
[with infinitive]:
it pays to choose varieties carefully
2 [no object] suffer a misfortune as a consequence of an action:
the destroyer would have to pay with his life
3 [with two objects] give (attention, respect, or a compliment) to (someone):
no one paid them any attention
make (a visit or call) to (someone):
she has been prevailed upon to pay us a visit
[with object] give what is due or deserved to:
it was his way of paying out Maguire for giving him the push
noun
[mass noun]
the money paid to someone for regular work:
an entitlement to sickness pay
Phrases
he who pays the piper calls the tune
proverb the person who provides the money for something has the right to determine how it’s spent.
in the pay of
employed by:
mercenaries in the pay of one or other of the competing local rulers
pay attention
see attention.
pay one’s compliments
see compliment.
pay court to
see court.
pay dearly
obtain something at a high cost or great effort:
his master must have paid dearly for such a magnificent beast
suffer for a misdemeanour or failure:
they paid dearly for wasting goalscoring opportunities
pay one’s dues
see due.
pay for itself
(of a thing) earn or save enough money to cover the cost of its purchase:
the best insulation will pay for itself in less than a year
pay it forward
respond to a person’s kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else:
I will take the support I have had and try to pay it forward whenever I can
pay its (or one’s) way
(of an enterprise or person) earn enough to cover its or one’s costs:
some students are paying their way through college
pay one’s last respects
show respect towards a dead person by attending their funeral.
pay one’s respects
make a polite visit to someone:
we went to pay our respects to the head lama
pay through the nose
informal pay much more than a fair price:
they paid through the nose for one-to-one intensive tuition
you pays your money and you takes your choice
informal used to convey that there is little to choose between one alternative and another.
Phrasal Verbs
pay someone back
repay a loan to someone:
a regular amount was deducted from my wages to pay her back
take revenge on someone:
he had left him out to pay him back for stealing his wife
pay something back
repay a loan to someone:
the money should be paid back with interest
[with two objects]:
they did pay me back the money
pay something in
pay money into a bank account:
this statement may include cheques that you’ve recently paid in
pay off
informal (of a course of action) yield good results; succeed:
all the hard work I had done over the summer paid off
pay someone off
dismiss someone with a final payment:
when directors are fired, they should not be lavishly paid off
pay something off
pay a debt in full:
I’ve saved up enough to pay off my mortgage
pay something out (or pay out)
1pay a large sum of money from funds under one’s control:
she had to pay out £300 for treatment
2let out (a rope) by slackening it:
I began paying out the nylon line
pay up (or pay something up)
pay a debt in full:
you’ve got ninety days to pay up the principal
Derivatives
payer
noun
Origin:
Middle English (in the sense ‘pacify’): from Old French paie (noun), payer (verb), from Latin pacare ‘appease’, from pax, pac- ‘peace’. The notion of ‘payment’ arose from the sense of ‘pacifying’ a creditor